After his appointment to the Government cabinet, Ludwig von Westphalen moved to Trier in 1816 with his second wife Caroline, born Heubel, both sons from his first marriage and their daughter Jenny who had been born in 1815 in Salzwedel. In 1819 their son Edgar was born, who later went to the same school and became friends with Karl Marx. Jenny was also friends with Karl Marx’s elder sister Sophia so they spent a lot of time together as children.

However the financial position of the von Westphalens was not good. They possessed very little wealth and at home there were seven of them including an aunt and a cook. Nevertheless they tried to maintain a sophisticated lifestyle while fulfilling their representational duties. Ludwig von Westphalen gave his children an understanding of both classical Greek literature, and, in particular, of Shakespeare.

He was greatly admired by Marx, who recognized Ludwig´s abilities earlier than his father did. Jenny was not only exceptionally well-educated, at sixteen years of age she was also the “most beautiful girl” in Trier. The childhood and teenage friendship between Jenny and Karl Marx, who was four years younger, developed into love, which lead to secret engagement in 1836 before becoming an official one. And in 1841 Marx dedicated his dissertation to her father. After Ludwig von Westphalen’s death in 1842, Caroline gave up the house on Neustrasse and moved to Kreuznach with her daughter, where Jenny and Karl Marx got married one year later.

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